Feudal Fairy Tales
by Chris-San
Summary: A bunch of Inuyasha short fics written by moi. Ratings and catagories vary with each one. Summary for each chapter.
1. Remembering Love

Author's note...VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ FIRST!!

(Chris-san pulls out big, thick, heavy Bible and sets it on a desk with a resounding *thud.* Then she places reader's right hand on Bible as if she were swearing in a witness...)

Chris-san (authoritatively): Do you swear to write a review after reading this story, commenting on the story, the whole story and nothing but your honest opinions of the story, so help you Kami?

Reader (that's you): I do!

Chris-san: Good! Okay, you can read the story now...

*~*~*~*~*

"Oi! Wench! Where do you think you're going?"

This is a typical Inuyasha fan fiction beginning.

"Like I said, I'm going home. I'll be back the day after tomorrow, so don't you DARE follow me!"

Same scene, always containing the same elements. One half dog demon from the 400 years in the past, one regular junior high school girl from present times, one large knapsack full of supplies, one clearing with a well, and several well known words.

"blah blah **shards** blah blah."

"Blah **tests** blah blah. Blah blah **understand** blah?"

"Blah blah **bleep**! ... **Keh**!"

"**SIT**"

*WHAM!*

"BLAH **bleep'n bleep BLEEP** blah!!"

"**Humf**!"

Sigh, "Poor Kagome-sama." 

Nods 

Oh! And let's not forget, one kitsune cub, one warped/cursed Buddhist monk, one demon exterminator, and a fire cat. 

"Grrrrr" Inuyasha sat on the ground, staring at the now empty well, which served as a portal between two times. Why was she being so stubborn? All she ever had to do was walk around and sense shards anyway. He handled most of the hard work. Besides, the sooner the quest was over, the sooner he could become a full demon, and she could go back to her time forever and do as many "tests" as she liked for all he cared, right? "Grrrrrrr! ... ... Oi! What are you staring at? You perverted priest!"

"I told you, I'm a houshi, not a prist." Miroku corrected nonchalantly. He continued to stare at the well, deep in thought. "Sango, did Kagome seem a little depressed recently to you?"

Behind him, a the young huntress nodded silently, and a high pitched voice suddenly interjected.

"I thought so too," put in Shippo. Nobody ever asked for his opinion, so he usually just voiced it at the most convenient time. "but when I asked Kagome, she just changed the subject, like she didn't want to talk about it."

Miroku "Hmmmmed," thoughtfully and put a hand up to his chin. "I can't remember Inuyasha saying anything Kagome doesn't usually have to put up with..." 

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean you lecherous lying monk!" 

"I wonder..." Miroku continued, ignoring Inuyasha's outburst, "Do you think it could be something in Kagome's personal life that's bothering her?"

"Personal life?" This from Sango, who thought of Kagome as her best friend. "You mean something from Kagome-chan's world?"

"Mm." Miroku nodded, still thoughtful. 

"But, nothing ever goes wrong in Kagome's world," protested Shippo, "all she ever talks about is how great it is to live there, unless it's a "test" she's worried about. But if it was only a test, why wouldn't she tell me about it?"

Another thoughtful nod. "However, even if something was wrong in her world, Kagome-sama isn't the type of person who would talk about it either." Miroku sighed and turned to Inuyasha, "Unfortunately, the only one of us who has ever been to Kagome's time is this ignorant slo..."

"Oi! Who's ignorant you groping bastard!"

Miroku looked at him in feign surprise. "Oh, you mean you know why Kagome-sama has been acting depressed lately?"

Inuyasha just glared at him a moment, unable to respond. No he didn't know, but damn if he was going to let Miroku make him look ignorant. "... KEH! Why should I care anyway? Maybe it would be better if she were a bit depressed sometimes. She's so smiley, smiley all the time it makes me sick!" Inuyasha make a poor imitation of Kagome's happy face before sticking his tongue out in disgust. "BAH! That girl probably hasn't ever had a REAL reason to be depressed in her whole damn life!" 

He turned away as his companions stared at him coldly, feigning indifference. Okay, so maybe that was a bit over the deep end, but it wasn't like Kagome was around to hear it or anything. "KEH!"

"Inuyasha." Miroku's voice had lost it's thoughtful tone, and though it remained calm, there was an underlying hint of anger. "That attitude is the very reason Kagome has never told you about any of her problems."

"Bah, like she's told you anything either!"

"No, she hasn't," Miroku admitted patiently, and then sighed. "Kagome is a very compassionate soul, who always seems to know how to help those in need. She is forgiving, kind, gentle and patient, even with YOU Inuyasha." The way he said "you" made it seem like Inuyasha didn't deserve the attention she paid him. "I've never tried to ask her," the monk continued calmly, "but I believe it would not be possible for Kagome-sama to show that same type of compassion for people, unless she herself had suffered a great loss, and knew the type of pain they felt. I have no clue what might have caused this deep rift in her heart, however, I'm sure her life hasn't been as perfect as she has led us to believe it is."

There was a slight nod from the rest of the group as Miroku finished his speech, like a collective drooping of heads, being bowed in thought or respect. Inuyasha was beginning to feel like he was at a funeral.

"Keh! What a bunch of bullshit! For the last time, NOTHING'S wrong with Kagome, she's just being a stubborn bitch like always! Humpf!" 

And with that, he bounded off into the tallest nearby tree to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*

It was sometime mid morning the next day that Inuyasha started to feel restless again. For some reason, all the others seemed to be avoiding him. Even Shippo had failed to come see him, which was strange because for some reason, the kitsune just LOVED annoying the hell out of him at every available opportunity. 

With everything so quiet, Inuyasha decided that they all must be mad at him for some reason. Not that he cared. The only reason they stuck around was so they could track down Naraku and kill him. After that, they'd all go their own separate ways and he'd probably never see them again, so it was best that they not get too close.

The wind shifted the trees and Inuyasha brought his attention down to the well that stood in the center of the clearing.

Kagome, that weird girl, with all her clothes and foods and gadgets from the supposed future, what was bothering her? It was true she had seemed slightly subdued the last week, repeating over and over again that she had to return home in however many days it was. When he asked her why at first, she'd just simply insisted that she had to and it was none of his business. Later, after he had nagged her a few times, she'd given in and told him she had a another test again, but he knew she was lying.

"Keh, stupid girl." He muttered. Truth be told, he was a little bit put out when she had said that. Sure, he could expect a fib or two from Miroku, or a sneaky trick from that bratty Kitsune, but Kagome? That girl he'd actually grown to trust a bit after all they'd been through. She had been with him when that bastard Sesshoumaru had created a fake of his mother, had comforted him while that damn spider's poison traced fire through his veins. She'd told him that his hanyou blood didn't disgust her, and she had come back, that one time he had sealed the well, just because she wanted to see him. He'd admitted to her that people used to pick on him for being a half-breed, and she had said she wanted to know all about his unhappy memories. He hadn't told her, but even then, didn't she trust him with that same information? Inuyasha scowled.

She had said not to follow her, but why should he listen to her now? Maybe he should go over there, just to see what she was really doing right now. Studying maybe? Visiting friend? BOYfriend? That might be the reason she'd lied to him, she was seeing someone on the other side of the well and didn't want Inuyasha to come and rip him apart. 

Inuyasha felt a growl rise up in his throat. Of all the stupid things! She didn't have time for courting! She had shards to find, or tests to fail, and now she was going to shove all that aside for some secret, scandalous, ... girl thieving, ... grrrr ...Jerk!! Well he wasn't going to let her! He was going over there right now and dragging her back before Kagome got herself in trouble with some stupid-ass, lust crazed, rapist and that was that!!

It took a single leap from the tree to the ground, and one more from the ground to the well. He wasn't jealous, he was just protecting his shard detector. And besides, it would be fun to laugh at her and say "I told you so," after he maimed the offending bastard beyond recognition.

No, he wasn't delirious, just ... WAY over imaginative... 

*~*~*~*~*

By the time Inuyasha got to the other side of the well, he was beginning to think a bit more rationally. First off, he had to FIND Kagome before he could maul her new suitor and second...

"Nee-chan, Hurry up! Mom and Gramps are already on their way!"

"Coming Souta!" Inuyasha's ears perked up as he recognised the familiar voice. Through the crack of the well-shrine door, he watched as Kagome ran past, trying to catch up to her little brother at the top of the shrine stairs. Stupid Kagome, always trying to catch up... 

"But what weird clothes is she wearing now?" he wondered. It wasn't like Kagome to wear black, in fact, as far as he could remember, she'd never worn black. Grey maybe, or dark green, but right now, everything she was wearing was black. Black shoes, black kimono, with a puffy bottom which ended just below her knees, black skin stuff on her legs...she even had a black hat, what was with this? 

Even more surprising, when he finally left the well shrine, and watched Kagome catch up to her family, he saw they were all dressed like that. Kagome's mom wore a Kimono like hers, the little brat had a black outfit on that made him look way too proper... even the old fart had a pair of black hakama and shit. Weirder and weirder. 

He followed them as the family walked, together, but in silence, down quiet streets, lined with walls of strange rock, that had trees growing up behind them. They finally turned into an opening in one wall, that led to a big open space of other strange looking rocks, all lined up in rows and some decorated in weird, unnatural flowers that were too colourful and completely out of season. Inuyasha soon realised they were grave markers when he went to hide behind one, to prevent his being seen. 

Somehow, he didn't want Kagome to look at him right now. Sure, he wasn't sure how he'd explain himself if he got caught, but, more than that, he didn't want to feel those eyes on him. The expression she wore now was one of stony sorrow, time worn but everlasting, tamed but not forgotten. The old kind of sadness that ripped deeper than wounds and scarred afterwards. That's how she looked now, scarred, and if he met her eyes like that, actually stared right into them, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to stand it. Somehow, he felt weak compared to her right now, a flickering candle meeting the break of dawn.

"Hello dear, we've come to see you again..." began Mrs. Higurashi, "Kagome and Souta are here too, we're all doing very well..."

"What about me? I'm here too..." protested the indignant old man. 

"And grandpa's here too, dear, we're all here now." She amended, then continued her prayer while the others bowed their heads, "The children are doing really well, they're such good kids, we're truly blessed. Souta's in third grade now, and he's learning how to write in kanji. The teacher says he has a real talent for it, and history as well. He's a very, very smart boy, a gift in fact." Her voice was proud and loving, yet stung with remorse. It reminded Inuyasha of his own...he didn't want to finish that thought. 

"Kagome's also doing very well," she continued, "She works very hard, both at school and in the feudal age, helping others to defeat demons and collect pieces of the jewel that was broken. She's not alone, because she has some very good friends to help her, and protect her. It's been very difficult for all of us, with her gone so much, but we manage. We all try to help her as much as we can, even Souta, who always tries to find out what she's missing in school." 

"Don't forget my sickness lies!!" Everyone ignored the loony old fart.

"Also, I know that in some way, you're with her, to watch over her, as well as the rest of us. Stay well, my husband, and be patient. One day, we'll all be together again." 

The little brat stepped forward and put something down beside burning incense. "I made a card for you dad. Last week was show and tell day in class, and I showed everyone the old arrow head you found when you were small. I showed it to them the same way you showed it to me when you were alive. They all said it was REALLY cool too...I wish you could have showed them though, you're so good at telling stories. I hope, one day, I can tell stories like that too, then it'll be even cooler than cool! He he!

Kagome watched as her little brother stepped back and took his place among the others, still smiling. Souta had really been too young when his father had died, probably just a few months short of five. He didn't have many memories of his father, but the ones he did have, he treasured dearly, re-living them as often as he could. Kagome liked to help him too, often telling him about all the things they had done together before his illness. She took a deep breath, she was next.

Inuyasha watched her as she solemnly stepped up to the little tablet and kneeled down, a look of quiet love on her face, marred with only a hint of sadness. 

"Hello Papa." She began, quietly, "I know it's been a long time since I last saw you, and I'm really sorry about that. Everything's been so crazy since I started going to the feudal age. Usually when I come back, I barely have time to see the rest of the family and my friends, or catch up on my work, before some idiot comes to drag me down the well again." 

"Who's the idiot, bitch! Keh!" Inuyasha whispered.

"But," Kagome continued, brightening, "I'm always thinking about you, and the things you taught me. Remember once, when I had all that trouble in math? You stayed up all night helping me so I could pass my test the next day, even though you were sick." Kagome's clamness began to crack, and tears brimmed in her eyes. "I always think of that time, and others, whenever I don't get something and want to give up. Sometimes I even see you right there beside me, and I know I'm not imagining it, because somehow, I always seem to understand the question after that, no matter how hard it is." 

Inuyasha's blood began to move swiftly in his veins as a tear slipped down Kagome's cheek. Damn he hated it when she cried! 

Kagome fumbled with something in her hands, "Here, it's from the warring states period, I thought you might like it..." She removed a small, decorated rice bowl from her hands, and set it down beside the incense. "I know it's not much, but it's unique." she smiled a bit, "I wish you could come see it there, everything's so pretty, so clean. You'd love it, I know, or maybe... you've already seen it..." She sighed quietly and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I love you, Papa," she whispered so low Inuyasha could barely hear it. Then she stood up and moved back, her face calm and remorseful once again. Why did she have to look like that? She looked like Kikyo right now, same stony face, same sadness, and yet...not. There was something in Kagome's eyes that he had never seen in Kikyo's sad face, something she had never known throughout most of her short life... love. Kagome was not afraid to love. Even now, when it hurt her heart so much it made her cry, she still loved her father. Maybe that was what had made Kikyo seem so dead all the time, even when she smiled or laughed, it sounded hollow because there was no love...

"Wahhhh! What a sad thing it is when a father out lives his son!" Inuyasha's thoughts were cut short by the wails of the pathetic old fart. In fact they were so loud Inuyasha had to flatten his ears to his head to block out some of the sound. "Waahhhhh! My son! My only son! Why did you leave this poor old man alone. Ohhhh..." (crying sounds)

Inuyasha decided that it was more than time he left. He had just learned something really painful about Kagome's past and he couldn't help but feel guilty about it. She hadn't wanted him to see that, and as much as it bugged him that Kagome had actually lied to him, he could understand how she felt. After all, he hadn't been very forthcoming with his past either, not that anyone would want to hear that load of crap anyway. 

Also, watching Kagome's family mourn had opened an old wound of his own he would rather not have been reminded of. A son who would never know his father, a wife who mourned for her husband, a young person who tried to hide the pain...all of these things he knew only too well, and the feelings they brought forth were starting to seep in through the sturdy walls he had constructed to lock them out. It was about as much as he could stand in one days time, and way more than enough to last a life time. Swiftly, he sped back to the shrine and hopped through the well which held his way home.

*~*~*~*~*

The next day, Sunday if anyone would have cared to note, a regular twentieth century school girl once again re-appeared in the age of the warring states. Armed with a sleeping bag, instant ramen, several text books, a toothbrush, and other items of necessity, she made her way out of the forest, down the now familiar path, and into a small and blissfully peaceful little village. It was late spring, the sun shone down from above, and the birds sang in the trees, darting happily among the newly opened, overly green leaves of the trees. Kagome stopped for just a moment to breath the ultra fresh air that made her feel all stuffy in comparison. She smiled, this place certainly was peaceful...

"KAGOMEEEEE!"

Usually.

"Shippo-chan! Good to see you!" She laughed as a streak of blue and auburn with a fluffy tail, jumped out at her from nowhere and landed in her arms. It was good to be back.

"Kagome-chan!"

"Kagome-sama. Glad to see you!"

"You would be."

"Now, now Sango, don't get jealous. I'm always just as glad to see you..."

"From behind maybe!"

"Well, that is preferable however..." Miroku quickly changed the subject, "Kagome-sama, how did your test go?"

"Oh...well....It wasn't all that bad." She stared at the ground, tracing nervous circles with her toes.

"I see, glad to here it then. Now, as soon as a certain other, overly stubborn member of our group shows up, we can be off." 

Surprised, Kagome looked up and realised for the first time that Inuyasha was not with them. "He's usually here waiting for me, if he hasn't already come to drag me back through the well..." she stated, looking around. "Do you know where he went?"

The others in the group shook their heads. "Actually Kagome-chan, none of us have seen him since the day you returned to your world."

"Oh? Did something happen?"

"Inuyasha was being a big meany so we all got mad and stayed away from him." Shippo huffed in Kagome's arms. 

"What? Why? What did he say?"

"Not, nothing important, it's in the past now really." Miroku put in a little too quickly, "However, if he isn't here, I suppose we'll just have to go looking for him. I don't think he would have gone far, perhaps we should split up..."

"I'll go check by the god tree," Kagome offered, setting Shippo down and hurrying off before the other's could object. She had a feeling she'd find him there, and if he had gotten into a fight with the others, maybe it would be best if she could talk to him first. "He's probably still brooding over some tiny detail that any other person would have forgotten already. Stubborn idiot." She muttered, but in truth she was a little worried. Inuyasha tended to take things way too personally, and his anger was often just an excuse to cover up when something had struck a nerve. 

However, he could also just be acting like a jerk, you never _could_ tell with that guy.

"Inuyasha?" she offered sweetly as she approached the old god tree. There was a quiet rustle from one of the branches as something shifted it's weight. She waited a short moment before continuing. "Inuyasha, I know you're up there, would you please come down?" Her voice was like liquid honey because she didn't want to have to use the roasery. It _never_ made him any more sociable. 

Luckily, there was another soft trembling of branches before an agile figure dressed in red appeared, landing with his back to her. Judging by the soft slump in his shoulders, he wasn't in the mood to be a jerk. Slowly he stood up and turned to her.

"Kagome." Inuyasha acknowledged quietly, with forced flatness, then he fiddled with his hands before adding, "How, was your... test?" He asked, weighting each word. He watched as Kagome's eyebrows slowly rose, showing her surprise. He never asked about her tests, especially not in this tone of voice. It made her feel like she was suddenly under some sort of microscope. 

"I...it was...okay." She whispered, once again staring at the ground and playing with the straps of her pack. She hated lying, especially to...

"Oh..." Inuyasha's whole face seemed to fall. She was still lying to him, even though he had given her no reason to. It really, really bugged him now, knowing that she couldn't trust him as much as he felt he trusted her. For just a moment, there was a slight pain in his chest, before he hardened it and prepared to spin around and look angry... 

"It wasn't a test..." She blurted out. Inuyasha froze mid spin and twisted his neck around backwards to look at her. He hung there for a moment, one foot forward, the other in the air, and his face looking desperately in the other direction. If Kagome had bothered to look up, she would have laughed at his position. 

"I... it was a special day, with my family." She began tracing circles with her toe again. "We always get together on that day, every year. I ... Sorry I, lied to you." she finished. She still didn't want to look up and Inuyasha decided to try for a little more.

"Why? What's so special about that day?" He tried not to sound like he already knew, he wanted her to tell him on her own. Inuyasha had hoped, barely, that she might trust him. 

There was a long sigh from the other party, something between relief and gathering courage. Quietly she walked over to the base of the god tree and sat down on the soft green grass, plopping her pack down beside her. Slowly she brought her knees up to her chest and rested her arms around them. She still hadn't looked at him.

"You'll probably think I'm being all sappy for this but, *sigh* here it goes." She said, then drew a deep breath as Inuyasha silently held his. "Yesterday, was the anniversary of my fathers death." She explained. "Every year, my family and I get together to go visit his grave and offer gifts and prayers. It's something sacred, a tradition we've always done since he passed away."

Inuyasha felt relief wash through him as he silently drifted over and sat down beside her. So she really did trust him... now all he had to do was make sure he didn't do something stupid to mess it up! "How... did he...?" He didn't need to finish the sentence.

"He was sick," came the reply, "He somehow got a disease that's nearly impossible to get rid of. He tried to fight it, of course, however..." She sighed shakily as Inuyasha's attentive gaze pressed her on. "However, in this case, the cure was worse than the disease. They fed him medicines which made him have to throw up all the time, and his hair fell out. Some days when I went to see him, he was so weak he could barely stand up... ... I, I wasn't allowed to go see him on the bad days..." She swallowed hard, and Inuyasha could see she was trying really hard not to cry. Not that he could blame her. Whatever they had done to her father must have been truly terrible, and what she said next made it seem even more so...

"He fought it really hard for a year or so, and it seemed to be helping... but then somehow it changed and came back again. He didn't live long after that, and I was almost glad for him when he had finally... ... because he was in so much pain..."

"I know..."

Kagome stopped on the verge of tears to look at her companion. He sat, much like she had, but with his legs crossed, staring out at some scene only he could see. His mouth worked for a moment, trying to find the right words. 

"My mother... when I was small... she was always sad..." he said. Kagome watched him, slightly amazed as Inuyasha frowned thoughtfully, trying to sort out his jumbled thoughts. "A-after my pop died, she really didn't have anybody she could turn to. People respected her, of course, but they didn't want to get to close to...to a woman who had been..." He swallowed, "...and I know I didn't help much. She cried for me too, afraid because she knew that... because I was hanyou... I know she tried to live for me, she loved me, but she was so alone, and I couldn't protect her from it. Then one day she got sick, and I, I knew that..." The words caught in his throat and he pursed his lips together to keep them from quivering. Kagome watched him as he slowly regained his control. "That's why I didn't cry then...she would be happy with pop... and I knew I could make it...

A moment passed in silence as Kagome watched Inuyasha stare out into space with his intense golden gaze. She understood, why he seemed so lost...

"But you couldn't, could you." Kagome thought to herself. She had always known that the only reason she had survived that time was because her family had been with her. Together they had cried, and comforted each other. Her father's death had drawn them that much closer, and somehow, Kagome felt it had made her stronger than before, knowing that they were always behind her. 

However, if she hadn't had her family, where she would be now was a thought that scared her. She could remember all those nights, just after her 10th birthday, when her mother had held her, both of them balling their eyes out into each other's arms. To go through all that alone, it seemed impossible. How young had he been then? How well did he remember his mother's face? Was he always alone after that? Or was there at least a guardian there for him? Myouga? What type of guardian could he be...

Kagome sighed. One day, perhaps he would tell her these things, but right now... She knew he had just given her a big piece of the puzzle, and it would be awhile before he was ready tell her another memory from his secret past. ...for now...

Quietly, she put her hands on the ground and scooted over closer to where Inuyasha was sitting. To his surprise, he found himself being startled out of his thoughts as she rested her head against his shoulder in a comfortable position. He looked at her a moment, stunned, but then started to relax. Why disturb her now? And at least she wasn't crying anymore. 

He sighed, what had suddenly made him decide to tell her all that? He'd never told anyone about his mother before, not even Myouga was allowed to speak of her, and yet... 

"Kagome?" 

She stirred a little. She was listening. 

"Thank you, for telling me..."

Another slight nod, before she snuggled in closer to his upper arm. He sighed again, giving up as he finally leaned back and put an arm around her, resting her head against the front of his shoulder. He smiled at her face. Eyes closed, she didn't look sad anymore. She was Kagome once again, and he...

"I'm going soft," he muttered to himself, just as he brought his head down to rest lightly on Kagome's.

*~*~*~*~*

Somewhere in the bushes, just beyond earshot of the dozing hanyou... 

"When do you think we should remind them we need to search for shards?" asked a certain perverted houshi.

"Shhhhhhhhhhh!" was the only reply as his two companions quietly bopped him on the head.

*~*~*~*~*

Fin 

(remember! You promised to review!)

*~*~*~*~*

Notes: 

I don't know if Souta has an actual age, so I put my guess at around seven. 

I modelled the grave yard scene around a similar scene in Ranma1/2 where the Tendo's visit their mother's grave. I'm not sure how Japanese traditions regarding the dead are set up, but I assume there's a heaven and a hell and incense that's burned. Beyond that I know they clean the grave with water and sometimes offer a meal to those who have passed on. Otherwise, I know nothing for sure. 

Inuyasha's opinion about his mother is based on the first battle with Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha's memories revealed her to be a noble lady of beauty and dignity, but she seemed alone, and she did cry, so I assumed stuff... I don't believe she died a terribly bloody death, otherwise I think Inuyasha's character would be more...cruel. If Takahashi-sensei sticks true to her history, we'll probably never know how exactly what happened to either of these characters (Kagome's dad and Inuyasha's mother) however I could be wrong. 

Finally, I tried to keep all the characters as much in character as possible. The whole point of fan fiction is to do things with other people's characters, and not change them into your own, or so I believe. If you have any further questions, either put them on your review, or e-mail me. I NEVER mind. 


	2. To Get A Hug

To Get a Hug...

(Rosefire: No pun intended... :-)

Another short story by Chris-san

*~*~*~*~*

Inuyasha sat on a hill, letting the fading sunshine and wind blow through his hair, making his ears twitch and wiggle at random in the strong breeze. He let a sigh of relief wash over him. Finally, he was out again, and maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to avoid ever going back to that place for the rest of his unnaturally long life, or at least another sixty years

It was bad enough when he'd learned that there was a demon with a shard terrorizing the village that had once been next to his mother's castle. As he'd thought, everything had been changed. The place didn't smell, didn't sound, didn't look anything like the setting in which some of his happiest memories had taken place, and that hurt a bit. They'd passed his mother's castle to find it nothing more than a large foundation covered in moss vines and weeds, and that hurt a bit more. That castle should have been his, and now it was way beyond hopeless. Somewhere in that mess he knew, was the grave of his mother. He should have taken care of her, the one who gave him life, who loved him unconditionally, and now he couldn't even return the favor. Painful, yes. It was painful all over again. 

And yet, the most painful thing of all, came not from a landmark, not from a memory, but from two children he had seen playing by the river. 

"I'm tired of being the dog demon. I wanna be Kuromaru-sama now!"

"Awe, but you got to be him all day yesterday! Please, just one more time?"

"Oh, alright. But this is the last one."

"Okay, but you gotta be an extra mean, ugly dog demon, and when I chase you around, you've gotta look really, really scared!" 

The second kid sighed, "Okay. But then I wanna play the hero!"

Inuyasha winced. Three guesses who the "dog demon" in the kids' game was. Not that he minded that part, really. It was the fact that they had made HIM into a hero. Kuromaru, the biggest, fuckingest jackass to ever walk the earth. The guy had been a pathetic bumbling idiot of a samurai, that had become infatuated with his mother at a very young age. He'd gone away, proclaiming he would "become worthy of her love," only to come back and find that she had already married Inuyasha's father, and that they had a son between them. Enraged, more out of jealousy at losing his woman to a demon than anything else, he set out to pursue her, and free her from the "evil demon's seduction spell." 

After Inuyasha's father had died, he had become even more relentless, filling the grieving widow's every waking hour with disgusting love ballads and flowers that always smelled bad no matter how fresh they were. He dragged exorcists and spiritualists to their door night and day, insisting that this one could remove the spell on her, this one was no phony. The stupid man didn't realize that the reason he couldn't find a cure was because there was nothing wrong with her to begin with. She had loved her husband, and now she was grieving for his death. Idiot samurai man figured that she was grieving because she was still under that same spell, which was now being cast by none other than a little six year old named Inuyasha. 

Kuromaru no baka! When his mother had died, Inuyasha hadn't even been old enough to grasp fully the concept of death. In his little innocent mind, he thought that she was just sleeping, like a very long nap, and that eventually, she'd wake up and they would go play ball in the garden like they always did. Nobody had bothered to tell him then that he was wrong. Nobody wanted to have anything to do with an orphaned hanyou. They all left the castle, he was alone. And then one night, HE had shown up. 

Inuyasha remembered waking up in the empty castle to the sound of some otherworldly wailing. Telling himself to be brave, he followed the noise, which was suddenly coming in his direction, fast. Soon, he was greeted with the tear stained, snarling face of that insane samurai, yelling "Demon spawn! You killed her! You killed her! DIE!!!" 

The end result was a very confused, very frightened Inuyasha, running away from the castle at top speed, one hand fisting to smear away his tears, another clutching the newly acquired wound where the crazy samurai's sword had given him his first taste of being impaled. Luckily, swords are thin, unlike certain people's claws, so he was able to heal up within a day or so, but he was still confused and scared, alone...and did we mention that he was six?

For all that, they'd made the fucking bastard into a hero, and that hurt a lot. They'd believed him because he was human, and Inuyasha wasn't. That hurt too. This whole place seemed to be made just to twist at his insides and make him miserable. So, the second they'd obtained the shard, Inuyasha had hightailed it out of the village dragging the others along with him. He hadn't stopped, hadn't paused, hadn't spoken a word until it was time to make camp. They'd chosen a spot in a little valley nearby, with that accursed village just a visible spec on the horizon from his lonely little hill. 

Inuyasha sat down on the grass Indian style and scowled at his feet. The rest of the group, of course, had no idea why he had been so up tight lately. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about it with them. Then they'd all end up feeling sorry for "poor Inuyasha" and he'd turn into one big charity case. He hated charity. He'd survived without it for all of his life, so why should he get any now? Bunch of fucking hypocrites, humans. Screw them all... 

"Inuyasha?" 

He jumped. Not visibly, of course, just his insides kind of leapt up to plaster against his ribs before falling back into place. Damn, he'd been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he hadn't even heard her coming. "What is it, wench?"

To his annoyance, she said nothing, just came over and sat down beside him. He said nothing, did nothing, just continued to ignore her, maybe she'd get the message and leave him alone...

...no such luck. Minutes passed by like the wind as it played with her hair. Damned she was cute. The setting sun was giving her a rosy glow. For a moment, Inuyasha wasn't thinking about the village, the kids, or anything that had happened during the last few days. He just sat there, watching Kagome and the small smile that was upon her face...

  
Suddenly, she turned to him and gently broke the comfortable silence. 

"Inuyasha, did you know, that if you want to get a hug, all you have to do is give one?"

Inuyasha blinked at her, what was this all of a sudden? Some kind of code?...To get a hug you have to-

"See, I'll show you."

Before he could object Kagome was already on her feet, urging him to get to his. He got up slowly, unsure of what the wench might be planning. It seemed like the real Kagome... maybe she was sick and delusional?

"If I lean forward, and put my arms around you like this..." 

And then it hit. Kagome was hugging him! The sly witch had conned him into letting her give him a hug...

...and he liked it. The warm arms around him held him close, but not too tight. And she was so close to him, so completely around him in fact, that he felt that, for once, if he were to let himself go, he wouldn't hit the ground. Experimentally, he leaned into her, just to see if his theory was correct. Automatically, his arms drifted up to wrap around her, returning the embrace. 

Kagome also leaned into him, and for a while, they just stood there, supporting each other as the wind picked up and the sun finally vanished below the horizon. Still he felt warm, like something inside him had been lit, and was now filling his chest with light and happiness. Almost afraid he might burst at the sensation of being whole, he tightened his grasp on her, and allowed his head to slump down beside hers, his cheek brushing her ear. He sighed, contented.

"I won't ask you what's wrong Inuyasha," said a soft voice, "but whenever you feel you need a hug, all you have to do is give one." 

Inuyasha smiled lightly beside her, tricky girl, and lifted his head just enough to whisper in her ear.

"Arigato, Kagome... Arigato."

*~*~*~*~*


	3. Shippo's Injury

Shippo's Injury. 

*~*~*~*~*

"Inuyasha! The trunk! The shard is in it's trunk!"

"Dammit! I thought it was in his arm!"

"It was, he moved it!"

"Fuck!"

Inuyasha brought his sword down, intent on slashing the possessed tree demon in half. Shippo watched as more branches appeared out of the leafy top. Each branch was a hand, and each hand had five spear like fingers. Worse, the more Inuyasha seemed to hack them off, the more they grew back. 

"Sango! Behind you!"

"Shoot, Hiraigotsu!"

This, combined with an infinite number of flying roots popping up everywhere, seemed to make the tree demon invincible. On top of that, it had somehow managed to wedge itself between everyone, preventing Inuyasha from using the Wound of the Wind, or Miroku his Air Void. 

"Inuyasha! It's moving to the roots!"

Shippo watched from Kagome's shoulder as she stood at the edge of the battle. Her bow had already been ripped in half by a very close call, and he could see her worry. One hit from that tree would hurt, bad!

"Fuck, how do we beat this thing if it keeps moving the damned shards!!"

"I've heard...that this type of demon...is weak against fire!" Miroku finished, tearing up a few more roots. 

"But where do...find a fire big enough...to..." Sango was quickly being overwhelmed as the tree concentrated on her. 

Fire? Shippo had fire. But he'd have to get really close to it to be able to have any effect. 

"Inuyasha, it's up in the canopy again! The canop.." She was cut off as the insane tree suddenly made a swipe for her. Obviously, it didn't like Kagome's ability to see shards. 

"Kagome!" Of course, Inuyasha saved her. "Kagome! Idiot, don't just stand there! Get back." 

And suddenly, Shippo had a plan. 

"I'll get you, Bastard." Before Kagome could stop him, Shippo had leapt onto Inuyasha's back, just as the hanyou was about to jump. "Take this, " He was airborn, "Tetsusaig..."

"KITSUNE..."

Inuyasha was forced to pull his own attack as Shippo appeared out of nowhere and leapt in front of him, diving straight for the tree. Once he was close enough, Shippo let loose the biggest ball of foxfire he could manage.

"...BI!" It was dead on. Starting from the bottom of the canopy, the eerie phantom flame began to work it's way upwards, leaping from leaf to dry snapping leaf, branch to branch, until the whole top was being consumed by flames. The tree roared and screamed, thrashing and twisting as the flames spread, quickly burning it to death...

Then the arm appeared out of nowhere. For a moment, Shippo's world spun, finally stopping on a view of the perfect blue sky up above. 

Then it went black... 

*~*~*~*~*

He felt like he was rising. Swimming, floating, drifting upwards through different levels of consciousness. At first, everything seemed black, but it was comforting. Then slightly less comforting, and then finally, it just began to downright hurt like hell!! He twitched, trying to make it go away, but it seemed like the pain was stuck there, plastered against him like a thick mud or...slime??... Something was slimy, and smelly, and...

Shippo opened his eyes and let out a tight scream as the pain suddenly shot through his body like fire. It was burning, his wounds were burning, and it smelled, and people were yelling. Big, strange, blurry people....

Something cool hit the slime, and suddenly, Shippo recognized one of the people! It was Kagome! "Ka...Kagome, it...it hurts!!" Now his face felt slimy too, and he realized he was crying. "Kagome! Kagomeeeeeaaawwwaaaaahhhh!!!"

He was wailing now, he knew, and he wanted to stop, but it hurt, it really, really hurt. And he was scared, what was wrong with him?? Why was he in so much pain. "Kagome, Kagome-mamaaaaa!!"

He was moving then, Kagome lifting him up, holding him against her soft tummy, just like his mommy used to. The pain didn't go away, but when she smiled at him, he wasn't scared anymore. Kagome was there, and Inuyasha always looked after Kagome, so he was safe with her.

"Ka," hic, "Kagome? What happened?" Hic, "Where are we?"

From somewhere in the distance, somebody 'Keh'ed. Kagome shot a glare into the darkness. Then her face was gentle again. "It's okay, drink this, it'll make you sleep."

He did.

"Remember, we were fighting the tree demon?" 

Shippo thought a moment, and then nodded slowly. Kagome was beaming at him, pride shining in his face. 

"Well, you killed him, ne Inuyasha?"

There was another snort, but Shippo didn't hear it. 

"I...I did it?" He heard himself squeak. "I...did it."

Kagome was still beaming at him as she nodded, but then she frowned. 

"But don't you dare try that again, okay? You had us all really worried! You've been out for most of the day!"

She bent down and kissed his forehead, "I never want to see my cute little fox-cub injured, okay?" 

She smiled at him again, and Shippo smiled back. Then the drug over took him, and he was asleep. 

*~*~*~*~*

Shippo's second wakening was much like the first, accept it didn't hurt quite so much. He also noticed that he wasn't lying flat on his back, but being cradled between a strong arm and a warm, firm stomach. Definitely not Kagome's. The thought alone was enough to startle him, just slightly. So he opened his eyes to see who it was, and was met by the stern, serious face of... 

"I...Inuyasha?!?"

Shippo's poor little head began to reel. This was the last person he'd expected to find himself next to. Could it really be Inuyasha? But, what happened to Kagome? 

Golden eyes fluttered open, and Shippo watched as the irises slowly widened, taking in as much light possible in the dark. His blink was followed quickly by recognition. Obviously, he'd been dozing. 

Shippo winced. As far as he knew, Inuyasha didn't like him. He didn't like soft and mushy stuff, he didn't like whining, and he HATED kids. This wasn't going to be fun, and despite knowing the consequences, Shippo began to squirm and cry out. 

"Kagome! Kagome? Where's Kagome! I want...I want-"

"Shhhhhh!" Inuyasha was hissing. His hard eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as he pressed a firm finger to Shippo's lips to keep him quiet. 

"Kagome's sleeping. Do you want to wake her up?"

Shippo chewed his lower lip, debating. He didn't want to wake Kagome, but the pain was coming back, and he didn't want to be with Inuyasha when it did. He'd yell at him, and swear, and Shippo didn't know if he could take that right now. He already felt scared enough as it was. What could he do? 

"Shit," Inuyasha cursed as his free arm reached for something beyond Shippo's sight. He fumbled with it for a minute more while Shippo took in the surrounding area. After a moment, he realized he was in a tree, with Inuyasha. 

Somehow, just knowing that, made him feel slightly safe again, like he was up in his own little word, alone...accept for Inuyasha. His thoughts were interrupted again as he brought whatever it was he'd been fooling with into view again. Shippo saw it was a small cup, the same one Kagome had let him drink out of before. Slowly, almost hesitantly, Inuyasha brought it up to Shippo's lips. Then noticed Shippo giving him a strange look. 

"What?" Shippo didn't answer, just continued looking at Inuyasha, who finally got annoyed. "Keh! Here, Kagome said to make you drink this!" 

Shippo nodded slightly and pulled himself up just enough to be able to drink. Inuyasha quickly took the hint and helped him, almost drowning him when he tried to pour it all into his mouth. At first, Shippo thought he was doing it on purpose, and the fox cub began to cough. When he finally stopped, still clutching his stomach in pain, Shippo was about to give Inuyasha the meanest glare he could offer, when he saw it. Inuyasha was, gently wiping the spilled liquid away from Shippo's mouth and looking down at him with...that look he sometimes gave Kagome when he knew he'd gone to far and accidentally hurt her with his words. A few seconds later, they tried again, and this time, Shippo managed to finish the potion without sputtering. 

He watched as Inuyasha seemed to sigh with relief, and leaned back into his tree. "Good. Go to sleep Shippo." 

Shippo, however, wasn't feeling sleepy quite yet. "Inuyasha?"

A flat, "What."

"Did I really kill that demon tree, all by myself?" He wanted to hear Inuyasha say it. Wanted to have dog boy admit that he'd done something Inuyasha could not. 

He was in for quite a surprise. 

"Fuck, yeah and yourself too. Stupid fox, what were you thinking!!" Inuyasha was staring at him now, jaw clenched in anger. "Do you know how fucking close you were to getting killed. Three inches up and we would have buried you this afternoon, in two fucking pieces!"

  
Shippo's eyes gaped wide as fear clenched him. His eyes began to water, and he couldn't help the wild howl that was building up inside him. Inuyasha's eyes grew equally wide as he watched. Cursing, he stuffed the edge of his sleeve into Shippo's mouth to keep him from bawling, all the while, hissing at him to be quiet. It didn't do much good, only muffled the kit's cry's a bit as Inuyasha struggled to think of a way to shut him up. Finally desperate, he pulled Shippo up to his shoulder, and hugged him. 

It wasn't a very comforting hug, to be honest. Inuyasha was stiff, and hard as a board to be against, and the slight pressure on his stomach hurt a bit...but the shock was more than enough to make Shippo stop his sobbing. Inuyasha was...was ... 

They stayed like that until Inuyasha was sure the kid was quiet, before awkwardly letting him back down and setting him once again against his stomach. Gods that felt strange. Inuyasha clumsily patted Shippo's head, nervous eyes seeming to dart everywhere at once. Everywhere but meeting Shippo's gaze.

"Look, it's okay, y...you're safe. Just, don't do it again!"

Shippo would have laughed at the situation, if the shock hadn't completely overridden his senses. Finally, he found his voice. "Wh...what do you mean? Everybody else fights, even Kagome and Kirara fight. Why can't I fight!" He scowled, "I hate being left out! I hate being weak, I-"

"Stupid, you're a kid. You're not supposed to fight!" 

It took Shippo to find his voice after Inuyasha's vehement outburst. He hissed back defensively. "What? So what if I'm a kid! I still want to help." 

Inuyasha gave a frustrated sigh before turning his sharp golden stare back to Shippo. This time, his voice was less sharp. 

"Dammit Shippo, you're a kid. You're not supposed to fight, you're supposed to be protected, so you don't get hurt. That's what being a kid means. You get it now?"

"...No, not really..."

Inuyasha growled briefly in annoyance. "Then forget it. Go to sleep."

Shippo realized he wasn't going to get much more out of the dog-demon just then, so he snuggled into Inuyasha's body heat and warm robes. It felt nice, not quite gentle like Kagome, but stronger. He still felt safe.. protected. 

Who would have thought? And from Inuyasha no less. The cold hearted, angry half demon who hated everybody...

"Inuyasha?" 

"What is it now?" Came the annoyed reply. 

Shippo paused for a moment, carefully wording his question. 

"Inuyasha...when you were a kid...who protected you?"

There was a long pause. Shippo felt Inuyasha stiffen, holding his breath for unknown reasons. The silence dragged on, filled only by the wind swishing in the trees. Finally Inuyasha let out a giant snort. 

"Keh, get some sleep, fox." 

And Shippo knew his answer. Slowly curling up again, he let the sleeping drug overcome him. He took in one deep breath.

"Arigato, Inuyasha..." 

And he was asleep again. 

*~*~*~*~*

Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes and gazed down at his charge. Stupid fox, making him soft. They were all making him soft. Staring down at the plump, happy, cub in his arms, he realized, there was nothing he could do to stop it either. 

A slight shifting below distracted his attention. He looked down to find Kagome staring back up at him, patched moonlight reflecting pale off her eyes and skin, and felt himself almost melt off his branch. Almost...

"Inuyasha, is everything okay?" 

He nodded once, and then decided she might hear him better than see him.

"Of course, wench." Indignant, he shifted the warm ball on his stomach to press tighter against him. Like he'd ever let anything happen to them. He looked back down to see Kagome smiling at him with those eyes. The ones that made his heart beat fast and his stomach do flip flops. Gods, he really was going soft!

"Alright." She said and snuggled back under the covers. He has almost just relaxed again when her sleepy voice, once again, called back up to him. "Inuyasha?"

"What?" What was with all these people saying his name all the time?

A slight gentle sigh from below. 

"Arigato, Inuyasha, for everything..."

At first, Inuyasha just held his breath...

"Keh!"

...the feeling was mutual...

*~*~*~*~*

The end. 


End file.
